Audionet Humboldt integrated

ICUToo said:
Congrats, kuoppis!
Please don't leave us in suspense, we would love to hear all about how it sounds:)
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Hi ICUToo, this is what I posted on another thread about the system change:

How does it sound?

The reviews I have seen are all singing the highest praise possible. Is it justified? In a word, IMHO yes. One review said that the Humboldt is probably better than similarly priced separates. In case of the Soulution 520/ 511 combo it replaces, most definitely.

The amp has now been running incessantly for maybe 120 hours, so the expectation is that it will further improve. But already now it’s surpassing the Soulutions by a really wide margin. While I liked the Soulutions, they do have a darkish sound signature. The Humboldt does not, it’s therefore more neutral, while sounding full and detailed, with spectacular sound colors.

A couple things to pick out:
- the level of definition with absolutely zero etchiness or sharpness you are getting from this amp, is simply phenomenal - I have not heard similar before
- the soundstage is very deep and wide, expanding to a different level compared to the Soulutions (which are world class amps, and the combo is about 50K) - it’s very easy to pinpoint the musicians’ exact locations, and e.g. when they’re moving around in live recordings
- micro detail retrieval is exceptional, which allows to listen deeper into the recordings and hear things like venue reverberations on a frankly speaking new level - I’m flabbergasted
- bass is very deep and detailed, without being a bit bloated or a result of a warmish sound signature
- dynamics are really excellent, guess due to the high capacitance and quick rise-time, this amp is super fast and transient speed is just lightning quick

Will I complain and send it back? Don’t think so. It’s in my own system everything I was hoping for, and much more. I’m really stoked.


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Sounds absolutely fabulous, kuoppis: enjoy it in good health.
I have heard the Humboldt- sounded great.
I am torn between the Humboldt and a Gryphon Antileon Evo.....
 
ICUToo said:
Sounds absolutely fabulous, kuoppis: enjoy it in good health.
I have heard the Humboldt- sounded great.
I am torn between the Humboldt and a Gryphon Antileon Evo.....
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I think both are great amps.

How I experience it, the Antileon Evo has great bass, and is very good all around. The qualities you will be able to experience, are however also a function of the preamp feeding it. In comparison, the Humboldt has great and very well defined, deep reaching bass, brings tons of micro details in the lows, mids and treble to the fore. It also has the high end sparkle and sweetness, and is exceptional in imaging and soundstaging. The entire presentation is on another level, timbres and sound colors are very delicately presented, you just hear more. To me, the Humboldt is in a class of its own.

The Antileon Evo I have only heard in showroom conditions.


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crwilli said:
Outstanding Kuoppis. Congratulations. It’s a mighty piece of kit!
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Thank you. Mighty it is indeed at 134 lbs, very substantial. And that’s no wonder when you see how packed it is on the inside.


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Super happy for you Kuoppis. Aside from changing things up as a general point (all for this, if one has the budget), I would be fascinated to demo a showdown between the Humboldt and the Gryphon Pandora + Gryphon Antileon Evo. If my maths are correct, the Gryphon combo is around US$20k more. If the Humbolt can match the sonics then that it is indeed a very interesting proposition. Not sure what the gain is on the AE, but if the Humboldt beats the AE for details, transients (has circa 670,000 microfarads of capacitance), bass and soundstage (the distinguishing features of the AE) then we should all buy the Humboldt!
 
AJR said:
Super happy for you Kuoppis. Aside from changing things up as a general point (all for this, if one has the budget), I would be fascinated to demo a showdown between the Humboldt and the Gryphon Pandora + Gryphon Antileon Evo. If my maths are correct, the Gryphon combo is around US$20k more. If the Humbolt can match the sonics then that it is indeed a very interesting proposition. Not sure what the gain is on the AE, but if the Humboldt beats the AE for details, transients (has circa 670,000 microfarads of capacitance), bass and soundstage (the distinguishing features of the AE) then we should all buy the Humboldt!
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Thank you Andrew, very kind.

On the one hand capacitance is just one factor, and on the other hand capacitance does not qual capacitance. Therefore, the relevant question is capacitance for what. As we know, in traditional Class A designs 70% of the power input is lost and dissipates as heat. In more efficient designs the same figure has therefore a different meaning.

Instead of a generic Class A approach the Humboldt uses a micro processor controlled power output to eliminate switching distortions. This allows for very low distortion levels with better power efficiency.

Sonics in turn are affected by many factors. E.g. lower background noise, better channel separation and higher frequency response lead to increased micro detail retrieval capability and production of realistic timbres. The Humboldt is an ultra high frequency design, like e.g. Soulution amps, which gives it a leg up in these areas compared to more traditional designs.

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AJR said:
Super happy for you Kuoppis. Aside from changing things up as a general point (all for this, if one has the budget), I would be fascinated to demo a showdown between the Humboldt and the Gryphon Pandora + Gryphon Antileon Evo. If my maths are correct, the Gryphon combo is around US$20k more. If the Humbolt can match the sonics then that it is indeed a very interesting proposition. Not sure what the gain is on the AE, but if the Humboldt beats the AE for details, transients (has circa 670,000 microfarads of capacitance), bass and soundstage (the distinguishing features of the AE) then we should all buy the Humboldt!
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An important post, AJR! Are you in a position to hear a Humboldt somewhere? Your opinion of a comparison with the AE would carry a lot of weight :)
 
Running in, the Humboldt continues to improve.

Pretty sure it can stand its ground against high quality competitors.


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Kuoppis said:
Running in, the Humboldt continues to improve.

Pretty sure it can stand its ground against high quality competitors.


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Was it a blind purchase?
Didn’t you listened and compared it with other components?

Or is it an understatement?


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I auditioned it as usual, but did not do any kind of shootout.

Also, I’ve had a number of great components in my system and know what I like. And it replaced a 50K set of separates, and is clearly better than those.


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This amp makes a lot of sense to me


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Hi, not worth a tread about my Spectral vs Audionet, i have sold my DMA360 mk 2, and DMC 30ss mk2, and am now playing my new amp a Humboldt, not many hours on it so still having to run it in, had it in standby from yesterday, makes a big difference, don't get me wrong the Spectral was great, just getting a bit old now, Humboldt just seems better, more real, and not so much forced, it is a big change for me as ive had different Spectral for over 20 years, and you get used to the house sound, and got down from 3 box's to 1, is so good, don't get me wrong ,if i lived in the USA, and your used prices are SOOOO good would have gone the Spectral way with their new range, it is that good, but for me in England im so happy playing this monster, Roger Walters on now, photo's to follow :yahoo1:
 
greystoke4 said:
Hi, not worth a tread about my Spectral vs Audionet, i have sold my DMA360 mk 2, and DMC 30ss mk2, and am now playing my new amp a Humboldt, not many hours on it so still having to run it in, had it in standby from yesterday, makes a big difference, don't get me wrong the Spectral was great, just getting a bit old now, Humboldt just seems better, more real, and not so much forced, it is a big change for me as ive had different Spectral for over 20 years, and you get used to the house sound, and got down from 3 box's to 1, is so good, don't get me wrong ,if i lived in the USA, and your used prices are SOOOO good would have gone the Spectral way with their new range, it is that good, but for me in England im so happy playing this monster, Roger Walters on now, photo's to follow :yahoo1:
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Happy to hear, congrats on the Humboldt!

I moved from a Soulution combo to the Humboldt, and couldn’t be happier.

Please let us know what your experiences are with the beast.


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greystoke4 said:
Hi, not worth a tread about my Spectral vs Audionet, i have sold my DMA360 mk 2, and DMC 30ss mk2, and am now playing my new amp a Humboldt, not many hours on it so still having to run it in, had it in standby from yesterday, makes a big difference, don't get me wrong the Spectral was great, just getting a bit old now, Humboldt just seems better, more real, and not so much forced, it is a big change for me as ive had different Spectral for over 20 years, and you get used to the house sound, and got down from 3 box's to 1, is so good, don't get me wrong ,if i lived in the USA, and your used prices are SOOOO good would have gone the Spectral way with their new range, it is that good, but for me in England im so happy playing this monster, Roger Walters on now, photo's to follow :yahoo1:
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very cool!!!
hard to imagine anybody wouldnt like the humboldt sound. then again i am very glad it even works for spectral lovers.
give it a vew weeks, it will significantly improve....opening up and later relaxing.
 
Wow, very nice! The Humboldt is becoming really popular here on the forum [emoji3].

But that really is no surprise, as it is a smashing value proposition.


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u-sound said:
ciao angelo, com e bello e benvenuto!
sorry, havent seen your question until now.

i would say about 700 hours.
the first 2-300 hours the stage is as small as a coin and then it takes some more time to open up more. when you think it is broken in you get a surprise later on that there is even more: the midrange beauty.
at least that is how it was in my case and the 700 hours are very subjective. i didnt count and maybe it was much less.

what speakers are you using it with?
please come back and report how it goes!
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700 hrs ..! So its a young mans Amp ... :)
 
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